News
Court send man to life in prison for defiling his friend’s 12-year-old daughter
By Francesca Hangeior
An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court, has sentenced a 53-year-old rubber trader, Kenneth Mba, to life imprisonment for defiling a friend’s 12-year-old daughter.
Justice Rahman Oshodi, in his judgement, held that the prosecution proved the charge of defilement against the convict beyond a reasonable doubt.
The judge handed down the verdict after finding Mr Mba guilty of the offence of defilement of a minor.
The presiding judge said the convict’s confessional statement indicates that he defiled the survivor in his room three times and gave her N200 each time after sex was corroborated with the survivor’s testimony.
He, however, said his oral evidence to deflate the charge did not hold water. Mr Oshodi referred to the convict as a pathological liar whose testimony was an afterthought as his testimony lacked credibility.
He said the convict betrayed the trust the survivor’s father had for him, as they had been friends for over 20 years. The judge held that the evidence of the survivor was unequivocal, straight forward and full of clarity. The judge also held that the confessional statement was consistent with the evidence before the court.
“I must accept that his confessional statement is true, as it is consistent, unequivocal and corroborated by the prosecutor’s evidence. The medical report also corroborated the prosecution witness evidence,” he said
Mba was then convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. The judge also ordered that the convict’s name be registered in the Lagos State Sexual Offences Register.
“You have been convicted of defilement and the offence is grave. You, at the age of 51, had sex with your friend’s daughter, whom you knew was 12 years old. Despite the overwhelming evidence before the court, you came to lie in your oral evidence.”
Mr Oshodi held that the charge against him carried a mandatory sentence.
“I hereby sentence you to life imprisonment. You shall serve your term in the Ikoyi Custodial Centre, where you are currently being held,” he said
The state counsel, Inumidun Solaarin, presented three witnesses, while the convict testified as a sole witness.
Ms Solaarin submitted that the convict committed the offence sometime in April 2021 on Ogunjimi Street, Iwaya, Yaba Lagos.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
US President-elect, Donald Trump’s incoming administration plans to immediately order a series of deportation raids targeting illegal immigrants after his inauguration.
Chicago is expected to be the first major city targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as part of Operation Safeguard, the New York Times reported, citing two people familiar with planning the undertaking.
The massive deportation operation is expected to target criminals and gang members in the United States illegally and run for one week.
Trump has promised to conduct the largest deportation program in U.S. history.
Up to 200 ICE agents are being sent to Chicago to help kick off the operation on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported. The agency has already asked agents to volunteer for the post-inauguration raids.
“There’s gonna be a big raid across the country,” Tom Homan, who will be in charge of U.S. borders once Trump takes office, told Fox News in an interview.
Homan has previously said he will instruct ICE agents to carry out raids on illegal immigrants at their workplaces.
In addition to Chicago, the sweeping crackdown will also target other major U.S. cities with large immigrant populations.
Trump is set to take the oath of office on Monday, January 20, in an inauguration that will take place indoors.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
A faith-based civil society organization, CSO that monitors and reports on Hajj and Umrah activities, the Independent Hajj Reporters, IHR, has commended the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, for selecting a different Saudi-based Hajj service provider for the 2025 Hajj season.
It said the decision would create healthy competition among service providers interested in efficiently, qualitatively, and satisfactorily serving Nigerian pilgrims.
The CSO, in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Malam Ibrahim Muhammed, in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, and made available to our correspondent on Sunday in Abuja, said the quest for improved Hajj services has been a major challenge for Nigerian pilgrims owing to the repeated failure of providing satisfactory services.
”We applauded the decision to pick another service provider that will cater for the needs of pilgrims within the Masha’ir areas during the five days of Hajj,” he said
The national coordinator, who is currently in Saudi Arabia to monitor the pre-Hajj arrangements, said available information shows that the new company, Mashariq Al Dhahabia, is an experienced provider that has served top-rated Hajj countries, like Indonesia and Malaysia, and ranked among the top five Hajj service providers by the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
“The company served 249 706 which is the largest number of Hajj pilgrims during the 2023 hajj. They were awarded as the Best Hajj Service Providers during the 2022 Hajj by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah,” he stated.
IHR said it further understood that NAHCON is planning to recruit another service provider to provide services for very important personalities, VIP pilgrims so as not to repeat the experience of previous years, which is also a desired step forward.
It, however, urged NAHCON to set a parameter of performance for the newly selected service providers to serve as a baseline for determining continuous patronage, advising that such criteria should be based on pilgrims’ satisfaction and adherence to contractual terms.
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